oversweet blackberry wine question

[dragonmaster42]

I've been aging a blackberry wine (1 gallon from 6 pounds of frozen berries) for several months now. Last week I tasted it and decided it needed some more berry flavor, so I cooked up an fpack with about1 1/2 pounds of berries and added it.I checked it last night and flavorwise it's good, the problem is it's now waytoo sweet (for my taste anyway).


Would it be worth fortifying it and making it a port at this point or should I just live with a dessert wine? Just being a gallon, I'm not to worried either way but thought I'd see what other folks though.


Tony

 

[Goodfella]

I would grab a glass.... Put some Brandy in it, and add your blackberry to see what you think. I think it would be great Port style.

 

[xanxer82]

mmmm port sounds wonderful

 

[Waldo]

Tony
Have you oaked it? If not, why don't you try aging it for a bit on some oak. Give it some character and the oak will help soften the sweetness too.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Wow, such a terrible problem to have...

 

[dragonmaster42]

Yes, it's a horrible problem. ha


I'll give the oak a shot, Waldo. Hadn't thought about that. Even if I go the port route at some point, a little oakiness would probably be a nice addition to it.


Thanks all!

 

[smokegrub]

Oak goes very well with blackberry.

 

[dragonmaster42]

Added an ounce of medium toast oak. Now to wait and see what happens...

 

[Goodfella]

Oak with Blackberry is a must!!! IMO

 

[dragonmaster42]

Just racked this the other day and gave it a taste. Still a bit sweet, but the oak helped a lot. It's surprising it tastes like a completely different wine now - in a good way. Still dropped some sediment with the oak, so I'll let it sit for a while longer to clear.

 

[vcasey]

You could also add a Cab or another wine to the blackberry. May help dry it up a bit for you.
VC

 

[dragonmaster42]

Got around to bottling this today. With the oak and almost another year of bulk aging, it tastes amazing!! The super sweetness mellowed out and blackberry nose is perfect.

The only problem - I only ended up with 4 bottles

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Well... that is four more bottles of perfectly oaked and aged blackberry wine than I have right now, so... I'd say you're doing pretty good! (and you can make the perfect batch for next season)

 

[Wade E]

Thats strange that the sweetness mellowed out as its usually the opposite. Bummer there is only 4 bottles left.

 

[dragonmaster42]

I thought that odd too Wade. Might have been the tannin from the oak that countered it. Dunno. Makes me wish blackberries weren't so darn expensive when they're in season.

 

[joeswine]

the tannin acid might balance out the wine ,that would make your taste buds think the wine is lesssweet but, I Was always under the impression ,once sweet ,stays sweet,there was no going back??/just my thoughts..........

 

[Danny]

Just stabilized my annual gallon of Blackberry (from homemade berries). Gonna rack in about a month and add some medium American oak. First time with the oak. Can't wait to try it.

 

[Goodfella]

Oh yeah.... Gotta have some oak in Blackberry!!! Just make sure not to over do it.

 

[joeswine]

Althought their is more than one way to make a wine I for one don,t use tannins in any fruit wine,seams to me one would lose the point of the fruit by coverring up with wood,but thats just my view on it.

 

[Wade E]

Joe, I use tannins all the time and dont taste any wood. If used in the right amount it adds tannins to the wine but not enough to taste any, just enough to make your wine last a little longer on the shelf and give it a little more mouthfeel.